On Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported that Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman has officially opted out of the final two years of his three-year deal with Boston, leaving $80 million on the table to once again test the free agent market.

Abraham’s report follows multiple media reports from mid October saying Bregman and his super agent Scott Boras were planning to make this decision.

Hard to imagine Bregman will find a landing spot with a higher AAV than what he had in Boston, but the potential for more years at a smaller AAV could be on the table.

Bregman missed 48 games in 2025, spending a chunk of the season on the IL after straining his quad while trying to leg out a single against the Orioles on May 23.

After a strong start to his first year in Boston landed him a spot on the All-Star team, Bregman cooled off down the home stretch of the season. He finished the year batting .273 with 18 home runs, 62 RBI and 64 runs scored across 495 plate appearances. His on-base percentage was .360 and his slugging percentage was .462, good for an OPS of .821 - 25 points lower than his career OPS of .846.

To get a better idea as to what Bregman could be commanding on the open market, here’s what former MLB executive Jim Bowden wrote about Bregman’s market in his column on contract predictions for the top 50 MLB free agents for the The Athletic:

"Alex Bregman, 3B

Age: 31
Bats: R
Throws: R
2025 bWAR: 3.52
2025 team: Boston Red Sox
Agent: Boras Corp.

"...He will be sought-after in free agency as the industry views him as a winning player who can contribute on both sides of the ball and perform on the biggest stage in the biggest moments. He’ll likely seek a long-term contract instead of settling for a shorter-term deal like he did last year. By opting out of his deal with the Red Sox, he’s walking away from a guaranteed $41.67 million in each of the next two seasons.

"Salary comps: Matt Chapman 6-years, $151 million; Willy Adames 7-years, $182 million; Rafael Devers 10-years, $313.5 million; Anthony Rendon 7-years, $245 million; Nolan Arenado 8-years, $260 million; José Ramírez 7-years, $141 million

Best team fits: Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, Mariners, Mets

Contract prediction: 6-years, $182 million"

Late last month, the list of nominees at each position for the 2025 Silver Slugger Awards were announced, and Bregman was the only member of the 2025 Red Sox to receive a nomination. For a team in desperate need of more consistent hitting in their lineup, Bregman is someone who, clearly, did it as good as anyone in a Red Sox uniform during his one season in Boston.

Among all American League third basemen with at least 450 plate appearances this past season, he ranked fifth in batting average (.273), tied for first in OBP (.360), third in slugging percentage (.462), fourth in home runs (18), and sixth in RBI (62).

With that said, Bregman’s numbers were better (.299/.385/.553) before suffering an injury to his quad while trying to leg out a single against the Orioles in May, forcing him to miss seven weeks in the middle of the summer. Upon his return, Bregman never completely bounced back to prior form, posting a .250/.338/.386 slash line to finish out the season.

With Bowden listing teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies and Mets as possible suitors for his projected six years and $182 million, the Red Sox better be willing and able to overpay if they’d like the leader of their clubhouse to return in 2026. All of those organizations are unafraid of overpaying to get their guy. Boston, as we all know at this point, hasn’t shown that type of aggression on the free agent market in quite some time (unless you believe in their pursuit of Juan Soto last winter).

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.